The eagle immediately attempted to dive when it spotted a bear emerging from the portal. The bear was surprisingly fast for its size and charged forward the moment it appeared. However, the eagle had not even completed fifty meters of its descent before the bear suddenly vanished into a cloud of black-purple smoke. The smoke dispersed rapidly, leaving only a shower of arrows falling to the ground where the creature had stood. The sight caused the eagle to hesitate mid-flight.
The reason for the bear's sudden death was simple. The moment the massive creature stepped through the portal, every Sonnenberg family member who could see it opened fire. The bear barely managed to take ten steps before it was overwhelmed. By that point alone, more than ten arrows were embedded in its head, while dozens more pierced the rest of its body. None of the family members spared their stamina, as they wanted the creature dead as quickly as possible so they could return their attention to the eagle.
The strategy worked, but it did not produce the result they wanted. Instead of continuing its dive, the eagle immediately climbed back into the sky. It had clearly witnessed the fate of the bear and had no intention of suffering the same outcome. The creature seemed intelligent enough to understand exactly how dangerous the archers below were. Rather than risk its life, it chose caution.
"It is way too clever for its own good," said Arin as he watched the eagle gain altitude once again. He was confident he could hit a stationary target three hundred meters away. After all, he had spent his entire life handling a bow. Unfortunately, the eagle was neither stationary nor predictable. That made the shot far more difficult than he was willing to admit.
There was another reason Arin hesitated to shoot. He knew that his arrow would lose a significant amount of power by the time it reached such a height. Even worse, a missed shot could come back down somewhere among their own people. Unlike the monsters, his family and friends would not simply disappear into smoke if struck. The thought alone was enough to make him hold his fire.
"I get what you mean," said Berhto as he watched the eagle continue climbing higher. The creature's caution was becoming increasingly frustrating. Every minute it remained in the sky made the defenders more nervous. Nobody liked an enemy that could observe them without exposing itself to danger. It felt as though the eagle was patiently waiting for an opportunity.
"Right, get some of the family members to gather the arrows," said Arin with a serious expression. They could not afford to waste ammunition, especially when they had no idea how long this situation would continue. Recovered arrows often needed repairs, but even damaged arrows were better than losing them entirely. The battlefield below still contained hundreds waiting to be collected.
"Will do," said Tom as he volunteered for the task. He understood perfectly well that he was acting as bait at this point. Even so, he was confident in his ability to survive if the eagle decided to attack. More importantly, everyone knew that if the creature came within one hundred meters of the ground, Arin would immediately begin shooting regardless of the risk, as he was confident in hitting the eagle.
"The elders are not going to like that," said Berhto with a worried look as he watched Tom step into the clearing. Recovering arrows was important, but exposing someone to danger was another matter entirely. The older generation rarely appreciated unnecessary risks. Even when the risk was calculated, they tended to complain afterward. Berhto could already imagine the lectures.
"I will take responsibility," Arin replied quietly. His eyes never left the eagle circling above them. "I just want that thing down. It is way too dangerous to leave flying around." His voice dropped even lower as another possibility entered his mind.
"What if it leaves and decides to ambush us in the forest?" Arin whispered. The thought alone was enough to make him uneasy. The eagle was not particularly large compared to some of the monsters they had encountered, but it was still roughly 1.2 meters tall with a wingspan of nearly four meters. The expanded forests created after Gaia's arrival were more than large enough to conceal a creature of that size.
If the eagle truly possessed stage one cultivation, then a surprise attack would be devastating. A creature that powerful could easily kill someone before they even realized it was there. That was why Arin kept his voice low. He knew it was irrational, but he almost felt as though speaking the idea aloud might give the creature inspiration. The last thing he wanted was for the eagle to start thinking like a hunter.
Sadly, the flying bastard did not give them any opportunities. Nearly ten minutes passed without it descending. Eventually, Tom was called back from the clearing with his arms full of recovered arrows. Many were still usable despite signs of wear, while others had bent points or cracked shafts that would require repairs. At least the recovery effort had not been entirely wasted.
Meanwhile, several kilometers away, Teun and the other adults were approaching the battlefield. They had been awakened by a panicked recruit who came sprinting into their resting area. The young man had been shouting about a situation at the portal and a stage one beast causing problems. Naturally, everyone grabbed their equipment and immediately began running toward the source of the disturbance. The urgency in the recruit's voice left little room for delay.
As they ran, Teun attempted to gather as much information as possible. Unfortunately, the recruit was struggling to speak properly. The young man had exhausted himself sprinting all the way to their camp. Every sentence was interrupted by heavy breathing and gasps for air. Listening to the report required considerable patience.
The situation reminded Teun of a weakness in their current training program. Sprinting for several minutes and then immediately providing clear information was a skill in itself. More importantly, many of their archers would eventually need to fire accurately while exhausted. That was not something people naturally excelled at without practice.
Anyone who had spent time with a bow understood how important breathing was. Even a small change in posture or rhythm could affect a shot. At ten meters, those errors might not matter very much. At two hundred meters, however, a deviation of a single centimeter could result in missing by over a meter. In those situations, the difference between success and failure was surprisingly small.
The unfortunate recruit suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He noticed Teun staring at him but had no idea why. If he knew that Teun was mentally redesigning the training schedule because of him, he would probably start cursing immediately. Unfortunately for the younger generation, inspiration often arrived at the worst possible moments. Their future training sessions had likely just become far more difficult.
Despite his exhaustion, the recruit still managed to relay most of the important details. By the time they approached the portal, Teun had formed a rough understanding of the situation. The immediate threat appeared mostly contained. Even so, the eagle remained a significant problem that nobody seemed capable of solving. That alone concerned him.
Then Teun saw the battlefield for himself. As another massive tiger emerged from the portal and vanished beneath a storm of arrows, his expression darkened. The recruit's report had been accurate, but it had not been complete. The creatures coming through were far larger than anything Teun had expected. That realization immediately changed the situation in his mind.
He had never seen monsters of this size emerge from the portal before. If creatures like the bear and tiger were appearing, then they were almost certainly stage one beasts. That meant the secret realm had entered unfamiliar territory. Normally, unfamiliar territory meant a new forest to explore or a new challenge to overcome. This time, however, it meant uncertainty they could not control.
Humanity's greatest fear had always been the unknown. Teun understood that better than most. Looking at the portal, he could feel that uncertainty staring directly back at him. Worse still, his family was standing right in front of it. Whatever happened next, they would be the first ones forced to face it.